Top Picks: The Kronos Quartet's 'Ladilikan,' 'Chasing Trane,' and more top picks

The Calendars 5 app will keep track of your busy schedule, PBS's 'American Masters – Lorraine Hansberry: Sighted Eyes/Feeling Heart' delves into the life of the 'A Raisin in the Sun' writer, and more top picks.

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Staff

February 2, 2018
—Beautiful pairing

No pairing of disparate musical styles with the brave and eclectic Kronos Quartet is ever too far off the reservation. They’ve been making unfettered music, sans borders, for more than four decades, and their latest collaboration, with Malian singer Hawa Diabaté and her Trio Da Kali, titled Ladilikan, is a hypnotic and moving celebration of traditional West African music. “Da Kali” means to keep a pledge, and the Kronos Quartet’s transparent and sympathetic role is touching, allowing the gifted trio’s natural luminosity to shine like the sun.

Hop on the ‘trane’

The documentary Chasing Trane, directed by John Scheinfeld,chronicles the life of the legendary saxophonist and composer John Coltrane and his work with artists including Thelonious Monk and Miles Davis. Monitor film critic Peter Rainer calls the movie “terrific,” noting that the film has “stunning concert and music clips throughout.” It’s available on DVD and Blu-ray.

Courtesy of Thomas Dambo

Unique birdhouses

We’re guessing you’ve never seen birdhouses like these. Artist Thomas Dambo has created homes for our feathered friends across the globe, from birdhouses that in fact look like birds which were placed in trees in Horsens, Denmark, to red, white, and blue birdhouses that he put up in the doorway of a building in Copenhagen. Check out his “Happy City Birds” project at thomasdambo.com/happy-city-birds.

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The Calendars 5 app will keep track of your busy schedule, allowing you to add recurring events, easily switch between time periods including day and week, and view the calendar off-line. The app is $6.99 for iOS.

Courtesy of David Attie

’Sun’ story

Many theater aficionados know the play “A Raisin in the Sun” but are probably less aware of the background of Lorraine Hansberry, the woman who penned the play. A new PBS program, American Masters – Lorraine Hansberry: Sighted Eyes/Feeling Heart, delves into Hansberry’s life story and how her play influenced theater in the United States. Ruby Dee and Sidney Poitier, among many others, offer tributes. It is now streaming on pbs.org and on PBS apps.